Brother's Black
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Bounty hunter Regulus Black teams up with his brother, detective Sirius to take down a crime boss. MuggleAU.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and ****Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 2391

Title: Brothers Black

Note: MuggleAU

Warnings: Violence

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Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Ollivanders: 10–11 inch: Write about a Slytherin character.

Care of Magical Creatures: Niffler - write about seeking material wealth

* * *

Hogwarts

Yearly:

Prompt 13 [Word] Mastermind - a person with an outstanding intellect / Plan and direct (an ingenious and complex scheme or enterprise)

Word 193 [Word] Fabric

* * *

Regulus Black was one of the most excellent bounty hunters in the business. His older brother Sirius had gone into law enforcement, but Regulus found absolute freedom in his current position. He didn't have to worry about going undercover for weeks on end, or checking in with anyone.

He got his file, did his job, brought them in. That was until he found a target that wasn't going to be all that simple. Everyone was looking for the notorious gang leader named Voldemort and his followers, who were referred to as Death Eaters since they left death and destruction in their wake.

Regulus wanted to get to the mastermind of the operation himself. He felt like taking anything less than Voldemort himself would be an insult to his talents. Regulus was planning on unravelling the fabric of the entire thing.

When Regulus saw his phone ring, he was curious as he and his brother hardly spoke.

"Hello?" Regulus said.

"Hello, brother," Sirius replied.

"How are you? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Regulus asked. He and his brother had become estranged during their childhood when Sirius had run away from home.

"We need you to come into the station," Sirius replied, there was an edge to his voice.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Sirius," he muttered.

"It's not all about you," he snapped. It was clear something had his brother on edge, and his instincts told him it was relating to a case, so he agreed to meet him.

"Alright then, I'll be down in ten," Regulus said, hanging up the phone.

Regulus caught a cab down to the precinct, getting an unusual amount of looks in his leather jacket, and his slick black hair. He knew he resembled his brother, Sirius, but Regulus hoped it wasn't enough to confuse, he hadn't seen Sirius in years.

"Hey, Sirius," a woman started, she had fiery red hair and emerald green eyes, once she touched his shoulder and he turned to meet her eyes, he knew she recognised that he wasn't Sirius.

"Regulus," she said, her voice held an awed tone. Did this woman know him?

"And you are?" He responded, not intending to sound rude, but he had no time for formalities.

"Lily Potter, you would remember me by Evans, we went to school with your brother," she said. Her comment had jogged his memory, and he remembered his brother's friend James was interested in her, seems like they ended up together after all.

"Do you work here?" He asked, observing her appearance, but knowing he needed to be polite. She was wearing an old sweater with torn pants, telling him she was a stay at home mom. He had learnt to pick up things to be effective at his job.

Lily blushed at his question, confirming it. "No, I'm here to see James, our son is sick, and I needed to pick up his card to take him to the doctor," she replied.

"Oh, good luck," he replied, and she rushed off to find her husband. The entire police department seemed to be consisting of those that attended Hogwarts Academy. It was the most prestigious school in the country, so it made sense that a lot of them would be in influential positions such as the police force. The crime rate was also at an all-time high, which was why he decided to go and become a private bounty hunter; he needed to make his money, and do things his way.

Then he saw his brother, Sirius, and realised they were practically identical. "Sirius," he said by way of greeting. Sirius nodded to Regulus, showing him to his office. A plaque on the desk identified his brother as Detective Black. "I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking for permission." He said, he knew they had their childhood differences when Sirius ran off to live with his best friend so he could be with Remus, but they have grown up now, and it was time Sirius started treating him like one.

He watched his brother, then noticed something, a limp, he was struggling to walk. It was also clear to Regulus his brother was observing his movements as well, as Sirius moved to close glass door behind him. He took a seat behind the desk, not offering Regulus a seat, but he took it anyway. It was a red chair in front of the office. When Regulus imagined what would reunite them, it wasn't like this.

"So, I'm sure you know all about this Voldemort character," Sirius said, diving right in. This quality was what he appreciated about his brother, no-nonsense.

"Indeed, quite a hefty tag on that one," Regulus replied quickly.

"Well, I was undercover as a spy, and due to injury, they want to pull me from the mission. But it will set us back years in the investigation, unless…" Sirius started, but Regulus cut him off.

"Unless I take over, posing as you?" He asked.

Sirius nodded. "Exactly." Regulus examined his brother and realised a flaw already.

"We are not identical," he commented.

"It's the only chance we have, and we just need to cut…" Sirius started but got cut off.

"Hell no, I'm not cutting my hair," Regulus insisted.

"Oh come on, think of the score you will get if we bring him in," Sirius said, he knew how to appeal to his brother's more ambitious side. The Black family had a nasty habit of believing themselves above the law, Regulus included.

"Sounds like you do this thing all the time," Regulus said suddenly.

"On occasion," Sirius replied.

The offer was tempting, as he needed the money, rent was due in a week, and the last few bounties have hardly been enough to keep him going. The technicalities turned into a haze as he briefed on what he needed to do. Sirius typed something on the computer, then asked him: "Anything to drink?"

Regulus nodded, and Sirius buzzed his assistant into his office. It was none other than Marlene McKinnon, Regulus's childhood crush.

"It is like a school reunion in this place," he muttered as she walked in.

"Oh, Regulus," she said with a giggle, "such a pleasure to see you again."

"Marlene, come on," Sirius said, his voice harsh.

"Yes, you called?" she asked, turning to Sirius.

"Please get Regulus something to drink," he asked, in a slightly less aggressive manner.

"A coke, please," Regulus said before she turned to face him again.

When she left with a smile, he realised that Marlene still harboured feelings for him, and that has always been an object of contention for his brother. Regulus didn't even believe that Sirius was in love with her, he had always been very close with Remus Lupin, and it wouldn't surprise him if they were more than friends. Their relationship was one riddle he was intent on solving once and for all.

"Can I ask you something?" Regulus queried.

"Regarding the case?" Sirius responded, clearly Sirius thought he had informed him of everything.

"No, actually," Regulus started, "something personal."

Sirius looked curious but nodded. Regulus thought carefully, and he didn't want to offend Sirius by making himself seem homophobic like their parents.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Regulus asked. The implication was there, and they both knew it.

"Yes, I've been dating Remus since I left home," he replied voluntarily.

"I had always thought," Regulus started.

"That doesn't make me any less of a man," Sirius interrupted. It was clear from his tone he still needed to make this argument. The sad reality was that they got scorned for being different. People are claimed fake when they are all the same. Regulus knew that.

"I never said it did," he replied.

"Oh, so you're saying that wasn't where you were going with that?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Of course not, I'm pleased you have someone that makes you happy," Regulus replied, then sipped his coke from the bottle. Sirius looked uncomfortable, and Regulus knew this was his cue to leave.

"I'd love to stay and continue this delightful conversation, but…" Regulus said, standing up from his chair. Sirius nodded, seemingly far away. Regulus closed the glass door behind him, saying a polite goodbye to Marlene. She was wearing a lovely yellow dress that fluttered down to the floor. He had always found her beautiful, but she had matured into an attractive woman.

* * *

He cringed when he went into the barber with his brother's photograph. "I need my hair cut in this style," Regulus said, giving the photo and sitting down in the chair. The barber nodded, chatting while he worked.

He already had the brown contacts, his blue eyes being the most distinct difference between them. They had almost identical height and builds; only those sky blue eyes would give him away.

The next morning Regulus awoke with a splitting headache, he knocked back some tablets with the half-empty bottle of beer on his dressing table. His room was small and littered with various items. He heard a hammering noise on the door and opened it to find Mr Kennedy, the landlord.

"Yes?" Regulus said.

"How are you doing? Just here to remind you of the rent due," Mr Kennedy said.

"Another day, another migraine," Regulus replied, leaving the meaning ambiguous.

"I see," the landlord replied, moving on to the next house, knocking on the neighbour's door.

* * *

When Regulus was all set to meet up with Mr Malfoy, one of Voldemort's associates, he got ready to go. He put in his contacts, leaving his hair wild like his brother, and slipped a knife into his pocket. Regulus wanted to prepare as much as he could. He was lucky that Sirius had never met the man, so it wouldn't be as hard trying to pretend. When he reached Malfoy Manor, he could tell Mr Malfoy was loaded, the place was surrounded with giant iron gates, with security cameras, at least four, that he could see.

When he saw the man with the long platinum hair and grey eyes, he knew this was Mr Malfoy. He walked up to him slowly and held out his hand for the man to shake.

"Lucius Malfoy, such a pleasure," he said. "I'm Harvey Specter."

"I see my reputation precedes me," Malfoy said. Suddenly, without warning his bodyguards had Regulus pinned against the wall, checking him for weapons. They found the knife.

"Boss, he has a knife," one of them said.

"Crabbe, Goyle, leave us," Malfoy said, tossing the knife back at Regulus.

"That is one crazy son of a bitch," Regulus said, trying to calm his breathing.

"My bodyguards are a bit on edge," Malfoy explained.

"Oh, the terrorism threat is only on low today," Regulus joked.

"Good one, Mr Spector," Malfoy chuckled, "please come in." He was trying to calm himself, for a second there Regulus felt like he was busted, and had failed the mission before he had even started. His heart was beating in his chest. He wondered if his brother was used to the rush of adrenaline that courses through your body when you are pretending to be someone you're not, especially in a dangerous situation such as this.

Since it was the first meeting and they had expected the bodyguards to search him on entry, he had no wires on him or anything. His discussion with Malfoy led him to believe they were close to a significant terrorist attack in town, and that Voldemort himself would want to close the deal with their critical "bomb specialist". Regulus had enough technical know-how to get himself through a conversation with Malfoy, so the first hurdle down, the next one to go.

* * *

Today was the day. The day of the bombing and he couldn't mess this up. Regulus wasn't paying attention fully, his mind on the mission. He bumped into Sirius's desk, knocking into his computer, almost having it drop to the floor.

"I've never felt so alive!" Regulus said, bouncing to relieve himself of his nervous energy.

"Good, because I'm gonna kill ya!" Sirius replied angrily, straightening out his desk.

"Come on, don't get mad, we busting them today," Regulus said, the adrenaline was making him act out more than usual.

"I don't get mad, I get stabby," Sirius replied, taking out a pocket knife. Regulus recognised it instantly, and it was the same as his. Their father had given them each an engraved knife when they started at Hogwarts, with the Black family crest on it.

"I still have mine as well," Regulus replied, taking his knife out. The reference to their history seemed to calm Sirius down, and it was only natural that they would be stressing about what was going to happen next.

The entire operation went according to plan until Voldemort managed to find out his bomb specialist was wearing a wire during the sting operation. Voldemort was about to shoot him down in cold blood when he got distracted by something flying past his head. It was Sirius's knife, and Regulus knew he was fine. Once Voldemort was distracted, he managed to wrestle the gun from his cold hands.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours," Regulus said as the other officers surrounded the building, and as Voldemort tried to flee the scene, Regulus shot— not aiming for anything lethal, just grazing his leg, making him fall to the ground.

When Sirius was cuffing Voldemort, Regulus noticed a look in Sirius's eyes, that must have been what had happened to him. Sirius have gotten shot on duty, and now that the mission was complete, there was no reason for him to be around anymore. Regulus took the wires off, handing it to an officer, before walking casually down the street.

"Hey, Reggie," Sirius called. He knew his brother had forgiven him for everything because that had been his childhood nickname. He slowed his pace, letting Sirius catch up to him.

"Yeah?" Regulus asked.

"Good job, you know, in there, couldn't have done it without you," Sirius admitted with a cough.

"You saying I bested the expert?" Regulus said cheekily.

"I wouldn't go that far," Sirius said. "But, I do have a message for you, Marlene says you should call her." Sirius grinned, and Regulus knew their relationship was on the mend.


End file.
